Elementary Library

support students in need of assistance brainstorming ideas and balloon shape templates. Sentence frames may include:

●​ This year, I ___________________. ●​ A special memory for me is when ________________. ●​ In fifth grade, we _______________.

Plan time for students to share their memory concrete poetry with their groups or the class. Facilitate polite and respectful listening.

Optional: Student balloons can be cut out and backed on color paper, then displayed on a bulletin board.

READER’S ADVISORY, CIRCULATION PROCEDURES & DISMISSAL

Resource & Discussion Guide

The Remember Balloons by Jesse Oliveros (E OLI) James has a bunch of balloons, each of which holds a special memory, but as his grandfather ages and loses his own balloons, James discovers that he is gaining new ones

Discussion prompts:

●​ How are balloons like memories? ●​ What do you notice about the balloons? Why did the illustrator use color this way? ●​ How does James feel when his grandpa starts to lose his balloons?

●​ What memories would make up your own balloons? ●​ What is a metaphor? How are the balloons a metaphor?

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka (811 RAC) Presents a collection of concrete poems whose shapes convey their meanings.

Discussion prompts:

●​ What do you see? ●​ Why did the poet use this shape? ●​ How does the shape of the poem add meaning? ●​ How does the type affect the meaning?

Awesome Earth: Concrete Poems Celebrate Caves, Canyons, and other Fascinating Landforms by Joan Bransfield Graham (811 GRA)

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